You have found your breakthrough idea for an online store. You have your website setup. You have even derived a marketing plan and have identified your audience group. Congratulations! You have successfully completed the first phase of your new e-commerce venture.
Now comes the crucial part. The moment your website makes a sale, you have to make sure that you get your customers what they want and when they want it. For that, you need to have set up an efficient shipping process early on. What does that mean and how to achieve that?
Planning the logistics for your new online store is the process of efficiently managing everything in the shipping process –from the purchase to its delivery. It might sound like a lot of work and an expensive affair. However, with a little help, you can easily handle it; which is a good thing, because shipping is the backbone of your e-commerce business. It is the point where your customer finally experiences the product in person. Also, depending on your shipping strategy, it can also represent a major share of your expenses. That is why it is important to put some thought and planning to choose a third-party e-commerce courier service and create a well-defined shipping strategy. If you choose the right shipping partner for your business, you can enhance the delivery experience for your customers which is likely to increase your sales, brand reputation and overall growth.
It’s a win-win for all!
So…
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How to decide the right courier partner?
When choosing a courier, you need to take into account all aspects of your shipping goals. This includes your speed, service quality, cost and tracking. Here are some key factors that you need to explore your e-commerce courier service partner in order to ensure an efficient delivery service.
Delivery Speed
The time it takes for your customers to receive their orders has a serious impact on your business and your brand reputation. This is because recent studies have shown that online customers are happier when they receive their orders faster. However, faster deliveries may mean depending on express courier services, which may put a constraint on your budget. So how to combat that? Here are a few tips that you can follow to make sure that you do not overuse your limited logistics budget.
Offering multiple shipping options
Let the customer make the choice. Sometimes, a customer who is looking for a faster delivery may be willing to pay for extra delivery charges if it means faster delivery. On the other hand, there are customers who do not wish to pay more for delivery and do not mind a late delivery. The point is to provide multiple shipping choices to the customer. This way you can factor the extra costs into the shipping charge the customers pay you.
Offering promotional discounts
Offering seasonal discounts and free shipping offers for limited days and hours or above a threshold value can attract higher traffic. This can consequently mean higher sales which can help you mitigate your e-commerce courier service delivery charges.
Shipment weight and size
The volume of your shipments along with their size and weight also factor while choosing your shipping partner. This is mainly because of two reasons – the extra costs for delivering bigger products and because some courier services do not have the means
Order tracking
If your products do not reach your customers on time, you are going to have some very unhappy calls. Therefore, keep looking for a logistics partner that provides you
Customer Interaction
Even though the product deliveries are handled by a third-party. You customers will associate the delivery experience with your brand – not the e-commerce courier service you use. Although the customer service provided by the courier services is not within your control, it is worth considering the reputation of the company by doing a background search.
Cost-effectiveness
Your shipping expenses might take up a large share of your online business. That is why it is important to find a courier service that is affordable and delivers efficiently. While it is not possible to measure this factor, you can get an idea about the company from the features they offer at a certain price range.
Insurance
Accidents can happen. Even the best logistics company can sometimes delay your product delivery and sometimes your shipments may arrive damaged. Understand the type of courier insurance you are being offered by a company in order to cover the damages.
Technological features
When your business runs on the internet, how can your shipping be left behind? Make sure your third-party service provider is well equipped with technological advancements that provide a smooth shipping solution. For instance, if you are planning to sell your products on marketplaces along with your own website, you have to make sure that the logistics are integrated. Having to pull each individual order manually from each platform for shipping is not only time-consuming but also a wastage of your resources. Look for a shipping platform that automatically syncs all your orders from wherever you are selling onto an integrated platform and simplifies your job.
Examining the individual features of various courier services is a painstakingly slow process. That is why for a new online store, it is always recommended to rely on a shipping aggregator website in order to fulfil their shipping requirements. An aggregator not only provides a lot of options with different e-commerce courier services, but it also helps you save time and money. An efficient aggregator is a one-stop solution for everything related to your product shipping and delivery.
Conclusion
At StoreHippo, we constantly strive to provide a holistic e-commerce experience to our clients through integrated end-to-end e-commerce solutions. With ShipKaro shipping aggregator, you can now also avail all the above-mentioned state-of-the-art facilities for an enhanced shipping and delivery strategy. Multiple options through different courier services let you choose the cheapest and the most convenient options for your shipments and avail maximum benefit through your shipping. Irrespective of the industry vertical you choose, ShipKaro helps you in making your logistics easy and affordable for every single order.
To know more about ShipKaro and its features, signup for free now!
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